Strauss nicely settled at Bulls

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Pretoria - Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss is focused on making a major impact during Super Rugby with the Bulls.

Strauss completed his move to Pretoria from the Cheetahs last season, which is a start of a new chapter in his career.

The 29-year-old ironically started his professional career at the Bulls as a junior between 2004 and 2006, before deciding to switch to the Cheetahs in 2007. In Bloemfontein, he played eight seasons of Super Rugby, captained the Bloemfontein side and emerged as one of the top hookers in the South African game, making his debut for the Springboks in July 2008.

Now at the Bulls, Strauss, who is in the process of recovering from a calf muscle injury, wants to continue his growth as a player and make a valuable contribution to the team.

"I'm all settled in Pretoria, and I joined the team for training for the first time this week after being cleared from my injury (Strauss is expected to be match fit from February 9)," he told MyPlayers.co.za. "I still know many of the players, management and union members from the time I was a junior at the Bulls, so I'm quite comfortable in the team environment."

So far, the Bulls have won both their Super Rugby friendly matches, beating the Cheetahs and English club Saracens in recent weeks. Strauss believes the Bulls are in great form heading into this year's competition.

"I want to help the Bulls achieve success this season," said Strauss. "The Bulls have high standards, and we have the talent in our squad to meet those expectations. There's a demand to do better on attack, and we're working hard on that. This is an area I feel I can help out with.

"At the same time, I want to push myself and continue improving in all areas of my game. There's always room for improvement."

When speaking about personal ambitions for the year, Strauss stressed that he's not looking too far ahead. Although it's a World Cup year, he wants to focus on his performances during Super Rugby.

"Anything can happen in rugby. Six months is a long time in the game, so I don't want to look too far ahead," said Strauss. "If I manage to perform consistently well during Super Rugby and improve my game week by week, everything else will follow."

The Bulls open their Super Ruby campaign at home to the Stormers on Saturday, February 14.

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